Effect of stocking density on productive performance, behaviour, and histopathology of the lymphoid organs in broiler chickens

Yanai*, T.; Abo-Samaha, Magda Ismail; El-Kazaz, S. E.; Tohamy, H. G.

doi:10.1399/eps.2018.247

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Our present findings revealed that broilers reared at high stocking densities show more damage in their lymphoid organs, particularly of the bursa of Fabricius, than those raised at a normal stocking density. This finding is in accordance with the results of Yanai et al (2018), who showed that broilers reared at densities of 15 and 20 chicks/m 2 experience more severe pathological lesions compared with broilers reared at a density of 10 chicks/m 2 . These pathological lesions manifested as thinning of the cortex and depletion of lymphocyte cells in the medulla, accompanied by epithelialization in the medulla of the bursa of Fabricius.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…The histological structure of lymphoid organs was observed under a light microscope to investigate their pathological changes. The lesions observed were scored according to the severity of tissue damage (Yanai et al, 2018) as follows: 0 (no lesions, 0%), 1 (mild, 5%-25% lesions), 2 (moderate, 26%-50% lesions), and 3 (severe, >50% lesions).…”

Section: Lymphoid Organ Weight and Histopathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Earlier studies demonstrated that stress due to high stocking densities could increase the ratio of heterophils to lymphocytes (Astaneh et al, 2018), deplete lymphoid cells (Yanai et al, 2018), and decrease IgG and IgM production (Palizdar et al, 2017) and antibody titers against Newcastle disease (ND) vaccine (Houshmand et al, 2012). Hosseini-Vashan et al (2015) reported that stress due to a high stocking density decreases uric acid and antioxidant enzyme levels.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Effect of encapsulated Cosmos caudatus leaf extract on the physiological conditions, immune competency, and antioxidative status of broilers at high stocking density

Agusetyaningsih

Widiastuti

Wahyuni

et al. 2022

Annals of Animal Science

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The present study aimed to investigate the effect of encapsulated Cosmos caudatus leaf extract on the physiological conditions, immune competency, and antioxidative status of broiler chickens raised at a high stocking density. After 15 days of rearing, 370 Lohmann broiler chicks were assigned to five treatment groups, including T0 (chicks were raised at a density of 10 birds/m2 and received no additive), T1 (chicks were raised at a density of 16 birds/m2 and received no additive), T2 (chicks were raised at a density of 16 birds/m2 and received 0.5 g/kg encapsulated C. caudatus leaf extract), T3 (chicks were raised at a density of 16 birds/m2 and received 1.0 g/kg additive), and T4 (chicks were raised at a density of 16 birds/m2 and received 1.5 g/kg additive). On days 28 and 42, blood samples from two chicks per pen were collected. On day 42, the chicks that had been blood-sampled were sacrificed, and blood samples and lymphoid organs (i.e., bursa of Fabricius, spleen, and thymus) were collected. The daily weight gain and feed efficiency of broilers (P < 0.01) in groups T2 and T3 were higher than those of broilers in groups T0, T1, and T4. Daily feed intake was greater (P < 0.01) in groups T0 and T1 than in groups T2 and T3. The erythrocyte content and hematocrit value of groups T1, T2, T3, and T4 were greater (P < 0.05) than those of group T0. The mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration in group T4 was lower (P < 0.05) than that in groups T0, T1, and T2. Leukocyte and lymphocyte levels were higher in group T1 (P < 0.05) than in other groups. Serum albumin was higher in chicks reared at a high density (P < 0.05) than in chicks reared at a normal density. Lesion scores were higher in group T1 (P < 0.05) than in other groups. Chicks in groups T1 and T2 showed more severe pathological changes in their bursa of Fabricius compared with those in groups T0, T3, and T4. Serum superoxide dismutase was higher in groups T2, T3, and T4 (P < 0.05) than in groups T0 and T1. Chicks in group T4 had higher (P < 0.05) malondialdehyde levels than chicks in other groups. In conclusion, a high stocking density influences the metabolic rate and physiological conditions of broiler chicks, as reflected by alterations in the blood profiles of the animals. Stress due to a high stocking density could damage the bursa of Fabricius, but feeding with encapsulated C. caudatus leaf extract, especially at a rate of 1.5 g/kg, could alleviate the cortical and lymphocyte cell depletion of broilers. Regardless of the stocking density effect, dietary supplementation with encapsulated C. caudatus leaf extract at doses of 0.5 and 1.0 g/kg could improve the daily weight gain of broilers.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Lymphoid Organ Weight and Histopathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Effect of encapsulated Cosmos caudatus leaf extract on the physiological conditions, immune competency, and antioxidative status of broilers at high stocking density

Agusetyaningsih

Widiastuti

Wahyuni

et al. 2022

Annals of Animal Science

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“…The labor cost, housing, feeding, and equipment per bird decreases as the number of broiler birds per given area increases [ 1 ]. Nevertheless, high SD in broilers has been linked to lower feed intake, stunted growth, decreased crouching, walking, preening, lower grade poultry products, stress, listlessness, and an increased risk of health problems [ 4 – 7 ]. SD has an impact on growth and leg-related problems by influencing litter and air quality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the majority of these findings were not always conclusive. Some studies showed considerable benefits from reducing SD on the performance of broilers [ 4 , 13 ], while others reported that reducing SD did not affect [ 14 ] or even had negative effects on broiler growth performance [ 2 ]. The disparities among these studies suggest that more focused research is needed to determine how broiler performance is affected by the different SD rates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of stocking density rates on welfare, growth, and hemato-biochemical profile in broiler chickens

Zabir¹,

Miah²,

Alam³

et al. 2021

J Adv Vet Anim Res

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Objective: The study investigated the effect of different stocking density (SD) rates on the welfare, growth, and hemato-biochemical parameters in broiler chickens. Materials and Methods: 106 broiler chicks of 10 days old were used and assigned into four groups: A, B, C, and D. The chicks of group A were reared in floor space containing one bird per square foot area (SD1.0). The chicks of groups B, C, and D were reared at 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 birds per square foot area (SD1.5, SD2.0, and SD2.5). Welfare, body weight, and hemato-biochemical parameters were assessed and monitored by physical observation and laboratory methods. Results: The birds reared at SD2.0, and SD2.5 rates showed increased panting breathing. Wet feces adhered below the vent. There were a significant number of birds showing dirtiness of body and feathers. Birds reared in SD2.5 were familiar with moist litters and high ammonia smell. Foot-pad dermatitis, scratches, and blister formation were detected in the leg. The study revealed that the higher SD negatively correlated to the welfare behavior indicators. Live body weight was significantly ( p < 0.05) decreased in birds reared at higher SD rates. Birds housed in SD1.0 and SD1.5 are optimum for body weight and improved feed conversion ratio. The hemato-biochemical parameters of birds reared at various SD rates did not differ. The total leucocyte count increased significantly, while total serum proteins decreased gradually as SD rates increased. Conclusion: This work explores that higher SD negatively affects welfare and growth performance in broiler chickens.

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Stocking density-induced changes in growth performance, blood parameters, meat quality traits, and welfare of broiler chickens reared under semi-arid subtropical conditions

Thema

Mnisi²,

Mlambo³

2022

PLoS ONE

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Broiler production in semi-arid tropics must contend with high levels of heat stress, which have implications on stocking density, bird welfare, and profitability. Under these conditions, optimal stocking densities are likely to be lower than expected, thus must be experimentally determined. Therefore, this study investigated growth performance, haematology, serum biochemistry, carcass and meat quality, sizes of internal organs, and stress biomarkers in response to different stocking densities in broilers reared under semi-arid subtropical conditions. Five hundred, day-old Ross 308 broilers (44.0 ± 5.24 g live-weights) were randomly distributed to 25 replicate pens (1.32 m2 floor space each) to create five stocking densities: 1) 10 birds/pen (SD10); 2) 15 birds/pen (SD15); 3) 20 birds/pen (SD20); 4) 25 birds/pen (SD25); and 5) 30 birds/pen (SD30). There was a linear decrease (P < 0.05) in overall feed intake and weight gain in weeks 2 and 3 as stocking density increased. However, weight gain showed positive and negative quadratic responses (P < 0.05) in weeks 5 and 6, respectively, as stocking density increased. No linear or quadratic effects (P ˃ 0.05) were observed for overall feed conversion ratio, haematological parameters, and meat quality traits in response to stocking density. Symmetric dimethylarginine, alanine transaminase, and albumin levels quadratically increased (P < 0.05) in response to increasing stocking densities. Serum glucose and thigh weight were not affected (P < 0.05) while final body, drumstick, breast, and wing weights linearly declined with stocking density. Increasing stocking density linearly reduced (P < 0.05) the weights of gizzard, proventriculus, caecum, and colon. Stocking density had no effect (P ˃ 0.05) on latency-to-lie. It was concluded that higher stocking densities compromised feed intake, resulting in poor weight gains. Based on weight gain trends observed in week 5, it was determined that Ross 308 broilers should be reared at no more than 20 birds/pen (~15 birds/m2 or 27.27 kg/m2) under the experimental ambient conditions compared to the much higher globally accepted industry standard of 20 birds/m2.

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Effect of stocking density on productive performance, behaviour, and histopathology of the lymphoid organs in broiler chickens

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Effect of encapsulated Cosmos caudatus leaf extract on the physiological conditions, immune competency, and antioxidative status of broilers at high stocking density

Effect of encapsulated Cosmos caudatus leaf extract on the physiological conditions, immune competency, and antioxidative status of broilers at high stocking density

Impacts of stocking density rates on welfare, growth, and hemato-biochemical profile in broiler chickens

Stocking density-induced changes in growth performance, blood parameters, meat quality traits, and welfare of broiler chickens reared under semi-arid subtropical conditions

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